Rehabilitation
by Nightshade498
Summary: Sequel to Broken. Just when Vriska and Kanaya are adjusting to their new life as a couple, a whole new set of challenges arises to meet them. Guilt, fear, and rejection shake the two, testing their own strength, as well as their commitment to one another. Human!stuck ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And I'm back! With a sequel and everything. Some of you lovely people expressed quite an interest in me continuing, so here I am. Also, I wanted the first story to be more of a fluffy one, which is why the bomber never really was mentioned, but that will be covered in this one, along with the two of our favorite girls dealing with a public relationship.**

**As always, reviews are golden!**

**And I still own nothing.**

* * *

"Hey, I'm back!" I yelled into the apartment, kicking the door closed behind me. However, there was no response, which confused me. Vriska usually acknowledged my entrance in some way. In fact, I had learned, Vriska was actually a very affectionate person, so she enjoyed greeting me at the door with a peck on the lips, or by grabbing my hand and dragging me to the couch. "Vriska!"

Still receiving no response I made my way into the kitchen to see Vriska sitting at the table, clutching a letter in her hands, her face completely blank. Worried, I made my way over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to see what she was clutching. Finally becoming aware of my presence, Vriska folded the paper and looked up at me with a smile, which I could obviously tell was forced.

"Hi Kan. How was school?"

"Oh no. You are not going to change the subject on me." I grabbed a chair and dragged it closer so that I could sit right next to her. "What's going on?"

She sighed deeply, recognizing my tone. I wasn't going to let her get out of this one. "They found the bomber. Sorry I didn't want to greet you with that." She scoffed, handing me the letter. It was a court summons, claiming that they had the suspected bomber in custody, and that all that was left was the trial itself.

"Why wouldn't you want to greet me with that? That's great news! The psycho that hurt you is finally going to get what he deserves." I smiled, grabbing her hands.

"She."

"Excuse me?" Her comment, and lack of enthusiasm threw me off.

"The bomber is a she. Look at the letter." She motioned to the paper with mechanical movements. My eyes scanned the paper quickly, picking out the name of the suspect.

"Aradia Megido. Do you know her?" I asked, trying to make some form of eye contact.

"Yeah. We were kind of friends. She used to work at the bar I worked at. But she got fired for… issues."

"What kind of issues?" I prompted.

Vriska took a deep breath before continuing, giving me a clear look at her face, which displayed a pained expression.

"Mental ones. And it's kind of my fault." Her head fell into her hands.

"Vriska, if she had real mental problems then it couldn't have been your fault." I tried to comfort her, placing a hand on her back.

"No, it was. She was coping with the issues, but I messed up, and she stopped trying to cope. How was I supposed to know just how far off the deep end she would go?" She groaned.

"Alright, I'm confused. Why don't you explain, from the beginning. I think that would help."

"Fine. Well, Aradia was already working at the bar when I got my job. She seemed nice enough, would even crack a terrible joke every now and then. But something always seemed a bit off with her. I asked around, and no one really knew exactly what it was, but they told me that she had been going to therapy since she was 12. It didn't bug me or anything, I tried to act the same around her, and we became sort of friends. But there was a small problem."

"What?" I asked, my curiosity fully peaked now.

"I guess she had started getting a crush on me. But the only girl I ever had a crush on was you, and I figured that was a one-time thing." She grinned and chuckled a bit. "I tried to ignore it, but she was getting really clingy and obvious. So I told her to leave me alone, that I didn't want anything to do with her that way. Of course, thinking back, it was probably much more forceful and bitchy. I guess she had it in her head that I reciprocated the feelings, so when I told her that she freaked out on me. She yelled and cried, but all I did was turn around and walk away. I feel bad now, looking back, but it was what came naturally to me. After that she didn't show up at work anymore, no one knew what happened to her. Now I guess we do." She finished, somber once more.

"Vriska, it's still not your fault. How were you supposed to know that she'd go unstable because of a rejection?" I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

"Kan, she was in a mental hospital." She whispered.

"What?"

"I called the number on the letter, asked where they found her, and how they knew it was her. They told me that she had escaped a mental hospital, and had been missing for three months. Three months to the day that the bomb went off. That day she calmly walked herself back into the mental hospital, told them that her work outside was done, and accepted treatment happily."

"Do you know what she was checked into the hospital with?" I couldn't help the nosiness on that point.

"Severe schizophrenia. Or at least it was severe after her breakdown." She answered.

"Oh god…" I murmured.

"You're the psychology nerd. Is stuff like this common for Schizophrenics? Or did this happen because I was a moron. An extremely bitchy moron." She asked, almost pleaded.

"Well, I'm assuming you know that Schizophrenics often experience hallucinations." She nodded. "If a voice suggested that she hurt you, and told her enough to convince her, then that would explain it. Also, she could have irregular emotional responses. If she doesn't know what's 'normal' to feel, how's she supposed to know that hurting someone isn't 'normal'? Also, delusions are common, so she could have truly believed that you reciprocated the feelings, and when you rejected her, she could have thought that you did an emotional 180 on her." I reasoned, trying to lift some guilt off of Vriska.

"So I did cause this, in some way…"

"It sounds like it was only a matter of time until she broke. Anyone could have set her off."

"And the bad luck continues to haunt me." She groaned, but seemed to feel a little better.

"Riiiight… So when's the court date?" I asked.

"December 12. Four weeks from now."

"Fuck…" The curse slipped out before I could stop it.

"Fussyfangs! Did you just cuss?" She poked my arm.

"Yes. That's right in the middle of exam week. I can't just skip out on exams!" I groaned.

"Hey, it's fine. It's only a day. It sounds like it's just a formality. She already confessed… somewhat. She just had to do it again, in front of a jury. If you'll let me borrow your car, I'll be there and back before you know it." She assured me.

"I should be there for you when you need me."

"Well, I won't need you at that exact moment. I may need you when I get back, so be there for me then, alright?"

"So now I get to worry about you and exams at the same time. Great…" I grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure I can help relieve some of that stress." She purred into my ear.

"Vriska!" A blush flew over my face.

"That's the Fussyfangs I know and love! Now come on, dinner's calling!" She laughed, standing up.

"You suck…"

"And you love me for it!" She called over her shoulder with a laugh.

* * *

"I hate Thursdays…" I grumbled as I rested my chin on the counter I was currently seated at.

"And what did Thursdays ever do to you?" Dave asked me with a smirk.

"Don't start with me Strider. And why are you wearing sunglasses inside? It looks like you're hung-over."

"I am hung-over. Now answer the question." He answered simply.

"I have a eight a.m. lab, then class until three-thirty, and now I'm here, working until ten. Answer the question yourself."

"Sucks to be you." He laughed.

"Shouldn't you be in the music section?" I half-growled.

"Fine. Fine. Be grumpy." He threw up his hands in surrender, heading back his section.

"Kan, you seem really irritated today." I looked over to see John walking towards me. "Anything you wanna talk about? And don't tell me to go back to my section. I have worked here longer than you."

I sighed, feeling a little guilty for snapping at Dave now. "I guess I am. You remember Vriska?"

"Your friend, the one that came to dinner with us a while ago. Is she still staying with you?" He asked, confused.

"Uh… yeah. Well, you remember how she had that accident?" He nodded. "They found the person who made the bomb. And the trial is right in the middle of my exam week, so I can't go with her. And I feel bad, even though she told me not to. I just wish I could be there for her." I explained.

"Jeez… Yeah, I guess you do have a reason to be stressed then. But there's nothing you can really do, and if Vriska's not upset, then you shouldn't beat yourself up about it." He reasoned.

"I guess…"

"Just be there for her before and after the trial. That's all you can do, right?"

"You're making my freak-out seem childish and pointless with your logic John." I deadpanned.

"It's my job." He grinned. "Now I do have to go, there's a lady in my section."

"Thank you John."

The talk with John did make me feel slightly better, but after a glance at my watch I groaned again. Three hours of work to go, and then probably three more hours of homework. That and Vriska would be gone when I got home, at her new job, working at a gaming store. I mean, I was happy that she had a job that she liked, and one that involved far less drunk men, but after such a long day it would have been nice to go home to my girlfriend.

"Hello Kanaya." I heard Rose greet me, walking into the store.

"Rose." I greeted. Honestly, I kind of wished that there was someone in the store, just so I had an excuse to skip the conversation. Ever since the night we all went out, when Vriska informed me that Rose might have a thing for me, I had felt a little awkward around her. Not because I was freaked out about the crush, but because I felt a little guilty, considering Rose thought I was completely straight, and never approached the topic with me. Now that I knew I wasn't straight, or not entirely, I almost felt a little bad that I never gave the blonde a chance.

"How's your day going? I know how much you hate Thursdays." She chuckled, stepping behind the counter to join me.

"As well as it could be going I guess."

"That's good. Stressed about your finals?" She asked.

"Among other things." I told her before I thought it through.

"Oh? What else?" She inquired. Well, I dug myself into that one…

"Well, the person that sent the bomb to Vriska was caught, and the trial's coming up as well." I explained.

"I see. Is she still staying with you?" Rose's smile now seemed a little forced.

"Um, well, she's actually moving in. It's a big apartment, and it's nice to have a roommate. She didn't really have anything that she was leaving behind in Charleston, and we always got along so well. It worked out really well." _In more ways than one…_

"That's… so nice to hear." Rose managed. With a nod she walked into the shelves to see if she could find anyone to help.

"That went well…"

* * *

"Kan." A voice whispered in my ear, pulling me halfway out of sleep. I pulled the blankets over my head in an attempt to block it out. "Kanaya." The voice tried again, but I continued to ignore it. An aggravated huff sounded above me, but thankfully the talking stopped. Then, out of the blue, a pair of lips attached themselves to my pulse point, shocking me out of sleep. I shot upright, causing Vriska to fall off me. "About time."

"Vriska? What are you doing?" I squinted against the darkness to see Vriska sitting on her knees, still dressed in her work uniform of a black t-shirt with some sort of logo on it and jeans.

"Trying to say hello to my girlfriend. Is that a crime?" She asked innocently.

"No, no… Sorry, it's just been a long day. It's nice to see you too." I opened my arms, and she wasted no time wrapping her own around me. I fell back onto the mattress, pulling her with me.

"Am I not allowed to change?" She laughed into my chest.

"If you can manage to change while lying right here, then be my guest." I mumbled sleepily into her hair. She chuckled at my response, wiggling slightly to reach her jeans. She slipped them off, and then pulled her hair out of its ponytail. She then took off the glasses hanging crooked on her face and placed them on the side table with some expert maneuvering.

"I still need to take off my bra, and you're holding me too tight for that." She informed me.

"Wanna bet?" I teased, slipping a hand up her back and unhooking the garment. I then proceeded to pull it off through her shirt. "There, all ready for bed." I sighed happily, pulling the covers around her as well.

"I feel like if you could do that, then I've been giving you too much practice." She teased.

"Nope, just enough. Now please, can we sleep?" I pleaded. Silent laughter rumbled through her, and she stretched up to peck me on the lips.

"Yeah Fussyfangs. We can sleep now."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I won't bore you with excuses, I had writers block and have done nothing but Tumblr for a very long time. But here it is finally. I want to start working on the next chapter very soon, also my exams start next week, so it'll either be no updates, or one or two to relieve stress. Then I have break for a while, so I hopefully will write during that.**

**As always, I own nothing, and reviews are the light of my life!**

* * *

Saturday morning I woke up to the sun streaming light directly into my eyes. Groaning, I pulled the covers over my head, trying to block out the beams. My fidgeting must have alerted Vriska, because she immediately started grumbling about being woken up. Once settled again, I was happy to give myself back to sleep, but was interrupted by a loud knocking at my door.

"Kan, there's someone at the door." Vriska mumbled into her pillow.

"Ignore them, they'll go away." I grumbled back. Sadly the knocking only got louder and more frequent.

"Kanaya..." Vriska whined, clearly not enjoying her wake up call.

"Fine." I pushed myself out of bed and made my way to the door. I opened the door to see Nepeta and Terezi standing there, Terezi looking bored, a pair of red-framed sunglasses on her face, and Nepeta smiling brightly at me, a knit cat beanie on her head. "Hi."

"Hi Kanaya! How are you today?" Nepeta asked brightly.

"Still half-asleep." I answered honestly.

"You look like a mess, don't you?" Terezi snickered, tapping my shin with her cane.

"You woke me up, what did you expect?" I knocked the offending object away from my leg.

"But it's one in the afternoon." Nepeta cocked her head to the side in confusion, causing one of the cat ears to flop down, causing it to actually look as if Nepeta had cat ears on her head.

"Yes, on a Saturday. People sleep in on the weekends." I informed her, trying not to laugh at my weird thoughts.

"Crazy college Friday night last night?" Terezi asked with a mocking grin.

"Kind of." In all honesty, Vriska had insisted that we find a party, claiming that I needed to show her a real college night, and that I only had a year left to go crazy before the real world kicked in.

"Right." Terezi said, and I could tell she didn't believe me for a second.

"Kan, who is it, and why aren't they gone yet?" Vriska called as she walked out of the bedroom, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Vriska!" Nepeta called, stepping past me into the house to give the still half-asleep girl a hug.

"Hey Nepeta. What's up?" She chuckled as she lightly hugged the shorter girl back. Luckily, Vriska had become used to Nepeta's unusual behaviors and affectionate nature.

"We should probably cut to the chase." Terezi stepped into the apartment as well, leaning up against the closet wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Right! We came over to see if you guys wanted to go get some lunch." Nepeta let go of Vriska and asked us.

"Also." Terezi prompted, sounding a little annoyed.

"Right. Also I have a favor to ask." She stated.

"What would that be?" I asked, running a hand through my hair to try and tame it a bit. You would think short hair would be easy to manage, but I got bedhead like a mad woman.

"Well, I found a pregnant cat outside a few weeks ago, and I need to find homes for the kittens, so I was wondering if you'd help me try and find them homes today." She asked.

"Yeah, because the last thing we need is more cats in our apartment." Terezi said with a small shudder.

"We only have two. And you wonder why Pounce de Leon and Felix don't like you very much." Nepeta chided her roommate.

"Whatever." Terezi brushed the statement off.

"Not to interrupt or anything, but we'd be happy to help." Vriska piped in.

"We would?" I asked, her agreement surprising me a bit.

"Of course. We'd be terrible people if we didn't help a bunch of kittens." Vriska informed me.

"You're totally making up for the fact that you couldn't have a pet at your last apartment, aren't you?" I asked.

"A little. Now, we need to get changed." Vriska told our two house guests, motioning to our pajamas. "Just give us a second." Internally shrugging, I began following Vriska into the bedroom.

"Try not to jump each other back there, we would like to have lunch in the near future!" Terezi snickered as we walked to the bedroom.

"Don't make me regret telling you about us Terezi." I grumbled, looking over my shoulder at her.

"Right, right. I should be honored that you came out to us first and all that. Doesn't mean I wont tease you two." Terezi brushed me off, crossing her arms once more.

"Kan, come on, I'm hungry." Vriska tugged on my wrist, pulling me towards the bedroom.

"Why is everyone teaming up on me?" I groaned, allowing myself to be led to the other room.

Four hours and five kittens later, Nepeta, Terezi, Vriska, and I were sitting outside our apartment building, Vriska holding a box containing one small kitten.

"What are you going to do with this one?" Vriska asked Nepeta, absentmindedly stroking the mewling kitten.

"I don't know. I could try getting someone to adopt her tomorrow I guess." Nepeta told us, sighing deeply. Vriska looked back at the little kitten in the box, then to me, then back to the kitten. Her eyes suddenly brightened, and she lifted the kitten out of the box, cradling the tiny creature in her arms.

"She's really cute, huh Kanaya." She bumped my arm, prompting me to look at the cat.

"I guess." I answered, nervous where this was going.

"It's a shame she didn't get a home today."

"Yes, but maybe she'll get one the next time we try."

"We don't know that for sure. And Terezi sure doesn't want another fuzzy creature running around her place." Vriska said, eyes wide and innocent.

"Oh no. Don't even-"

"Why can't we keep her? Please." Vriska asked, holding the tiny fuzz ball in front of her face, so that I was assaulted by two pairs of wide eyes. "Look how cute she is!" Vriska laid the cat in my arms, forcing me to hold the thing so I wouldn't drop her.

I looked down at the cat, and two wide green eyes looked back up to me. The kitten was cute, all black, with folded ears, long bushy fur, and the tips of two fangs peeking out of its mouth. She suddenly broke into a huge yawn, exposing tiny sharp teeth, before cuddling her face into my chest and purring like an engine. Against my will a small smile tugged at my mouth, and I couldn't help but admit that the little girl was already growing on me.

"Whipped." Terezi commented from beside me.

"Oh shut up." I half-heartedly chastised her.

"Does that mean we're keeping her?" Vriska grabbed my arm, bouncing up and down.

"I'm going to regret this…" I grumbled, handing Vriska the kitten. "Nepeta, would it be okay if we kept this one?"

"Really?" The shorter girl asked, eyes sparkling. I nodded, and she let out a small squeal of excitement. "Of course!"

"We'll need to run to the pet store to get her some things. She also needs a name." I told my girlfriend, getting up and offering her a hand. She took it, then kissed me hard on the lips.

"Thank you so much!" She said with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Someone's gettin' some tonight." Terezi commented, standing up as well.

"Oh, shut up!" I groaned.

"Well, if you don't want to, then fine." Vriska threw over her shoulder as she sauntered to the car.

"That's not what I said!" I quickly called out, pointedly ignoring Terezi's cackling. "Thank you Nepeta." I gave her a quick hug.

"No, thank you! And trust me, you'll love the little kitty. They're such good pets, low maintenance too."

"Low maintenance sounds good to me." I called over my shoulder as I walked to the car.

"I was thinking Alice."

"Huh?" I turned to Vriska once I had parked the car right outside of PetSmart.

"Her name. Alice." Vriska clarified.

"Any particular reason?"

"Well, she has little fangs, hair that just kind of sticks up at every angle, and green eyes. She kind of reminds me of you, and you kind of remind me of Alice from those crappy fake-vampire movies you make me watch." She explained, scratching the kitten under her chin.

"You mean from Twilight? I remind you of Alice from Twilight?" I asked.

"Yep, only a lot less pale. And maybe a little but taller." Vriska chuckled.

"Gee, thanks." I said as I got out of the car.

"Don't mention it." Vriska laughed as we walked into the store.

I grabbed a cart, and walked to the cat section, grabbing all the things that Nepeta told me to get. Once I had everything we walked over to the collars.

"So what collar do you want little Alice to wear?" I asked, looking at the wall of collars.

"You like the name?" Vriska asked.

"It fits." I simply said, wrapping an arm around Vriska's waist. Alice looked up at me and mewed. "See, even she agrees." Vriska chuckled and looked over the collars.

"How about this one?" She showed me a collar that was blue and green striped.

"I think it's perfect." I grabbed the small band of fabric, taking it off the cardboard backing, and snapping it around Alice's tiny neck. She shook a little, causing the tiny bell to jingle. I giggled and threw the cardboard into the cart and headed to the checkout. Once we had paid we made a small silver tag with Alice's name, my phone number, and our address, just in case she got out.

"Time to go home Ali-cat." Vriska nuzzled the kitten.

"Really?" I couldn't help but laugh at the nickname.

"Don't judge." Vriska bumped me, walking to the car. I quickly caught up to her, hugging her from behind and ruffling Alice's fur.

"I think it is adorable." I assured her, kissing her neck quickly before I started unloading the bags into the car.

"Good answer."

A week had passed, and little Alice settled into the apartment very well, and Vriska seemed to really enjoy looking out for her. A week turned into two, then three, and before I knew it, Vriska was dropping me off on campus, and then headed off to her court date. I took a deep breath and headed to my psychology final, trying not to think of her.

Three hours, and an extremely sore hand later, I was standing outside the English building, waiting for Nepeta. Her exam ended a little after mine, and then Terezi's ended an hour later, so we were going to get some coffee to wait for the blind girl's exam to be over, and then we were going to head home.

"Hey Kanaya!" I heard Nepeta call out from the stairs of the building.

"Hello Nepeta. How was your final?" I asked as we began walking.

"Not bad. You know how I love writing! How about you?" She asked.

"I think it went well. Psychology and all." I smiled and shifted my bag to my other shoulder.

"Oh right. So how's Vriska today? Is she nervous at all?"

"I don't know. She says she isn't, but she was pacing a lot this morning, and she kept picking up Alice, putting her down, then picking her up again. Those are nervous patterns."

"Kan." Nepeta stopped my rambling. "Don't psychoanalyze her."

"That's not psychoanalysis…"

"Kanaya." Nepeta's voice took on a warning tone.

"Right, sorry."

"Anyway, you'll see when she gets home." Nepeta reassured me.

"Thanks."

"No problem, now let's go and get that coffee!" Nepeta yelled, grabbing my hand, and took off running.

Vriska got home a few hours after I did. I was sitting on the couch reading a book with Alice curled up beside me when I heard the front door open. Vriska walked into the living room looking exhausted, prompting me to quickly close my book and sit up straight. She plopped down on the couch, causing Alice to bounce and jump off the couch with a little cat huff, walking away with her head and tail high in the air.

"Hi." I greeted her, wrapping my arms around her.

"Hey." She returned the hug, leaning into me.

"So how did it go?" I prompted.

"I don't know how to answer that. Good I guess, because there weren't any problems. Aradia confessed and she would have been sentenced to 20 years because I suffered 'some physical and psychological harm' and it was her first offence, but she pleaded legally insane. So she is going to be locked up in a mental hospital instead."

"Only some harm?" I asked, wondering why it wasn't considered more severe.

"I didn't seem to have any major psychological scars, and I really only lost an eye since I got a new arm." She answered, raising her left arm to prove a point.

"That's bullshit." I grumbled.

"It's fine. She's gone, and that's all that matters, right?" Vriska looked up at me.

"Yeah, she won't touch you ever again. I'll make sure of that." I growled out, a little surprised at my own reaction.

"My hero." Vriska chuckled, snuggling more securely against my side.

"I think we should head to bed early tonight, what about you? It's been a long day for both of us." I ran my hand through her hair, which I was making sure that she brushed thoroughly every day.

"Sounds good to me." She sighed, getting up and holding her hand out to me.

Yes, I would make sure that that psycho bitch would never touch Vriska again. She meant too much to me, we had finally started our life together, and I sure as hell wouldn't lose her without a fight.


	3. Chapter 3

December 15 had us driving back to Ohio to see my mother for Christmas break. Vriska was driving, and I was doing my best not to throw up or throw myself out of the speeding vehicle. I hadn't exactly told my mother that I was dating Vriska yet, considering that it was more of a face to face type conversation, and the prospect of coming out to my mother was scaring my to death. My mother did seem excited to see Vriska again, who had become almost a second daughter to her with all the time she had spent at my house, and I hoped that that affection would turn into acceptance.

Honestly though, I didn't even know how my mom felt about gays and lesbians. It never came up in conversation when I was home, and I had never asked her about her views.

"You okay Fussyfangs?" Vriska's voice cut through my musings, causing me to turn towards her.

"Of course. Why?" My response was quick, but sounded forced even to me.

"Well, if you keep scratching Alice there she's gonna have a bald spot." Vriska chuckled, glancing at the protesting kitty before focusing on the road again.

"What?" I looked down to see little Alice batting at my hand. "Oh, sorry Ali-cat." I stopped petting her, and she settled back onto my lap, trying to nap.

"Really Kanaya, it'll be okay. You'll see. She's your mom, and you two were always so close. Sure, it might be a shock, but she'll get over it." Vriska tried to reassure me, but it did nothing to untie the knots in my stomach.

"You're probably right, but it doesn't help the nerves at all. I never even dreamed that I would have to do something like this."

"First time for everything. At least I don't have to worry about telling any parents." Vriska said with a humorless laugh. Not knowing quite how to respond to that, I reached over and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. She covered my hand with her metal one, giving me a small squeeze back.

With that I settled back into staring out the window, worry gripping me once more. _Only two hours to go, oh joy…_

* * *

"Kanaya!" As soon as the door was opened my mother enveloped me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hi Momma." I laughed slightly at her enthusiasm and returned the hug.

"I've missed you." She pulled back, then finally noticed Vriska standing behind me. I stepped aside and she pulled Vriska into a hug. "Vriska, it's so nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you again too Mrs. Maryam." Vriska chuckled, tentatively returning the hug.

"Please, Mary is fine! Let me take a look at you." My mom pulled back, placing her hands on Vriska's shoulders. "Oh dear, what happened to you're arm?" My mom asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Momma, we can talk about that, but can we come inside? It's a little colder here than it was in South Carolina." I pointed out, starting to shiver slightly. Long sleeves would have been a good idea today.

"Of course. Sorry, sometimes I forget that the south had softened you up." She laughed, motioning for us to come inside.

"I'm gonna grab Alice real fast." Vriska told me with a small squeeze on my arm.

"Who's Alice?" My mom asked as we went into the house.

"Oh, I kind of adopted a cat." I said with a small guilty smile.

"That's wonderful! I always worry about you all alone in that big apartment of yours."

"Right…" I really didn't know how to respond, considering I wasn't really alone in the apartment anymore, but I wasn't going into that until the "little talk" we were going to have tomorrow.

"Kan! She's all wiggly, make her stop!" Vriska walked into the living room, holding out our little kitten, who was doing everything in her power to wiggle out of the blonde's hands.

"Like I can control her." Rolling my eyes, I got up and grabbed the hyper beast. Surprisingly, as soon as I had her against my chest she settled down.

"Aww, she's adorable, and she seems to have taken to you so well." My mom walked up to me to scratch the tiny cat under her chin, causing her to purr like crazy. "But you do have to keep her locked up in your room, I don't want her destroying my house. I've learned my lesson with pets, the more adorable they are, the more destruction they wreak."

"Of course." I giggled, which was promptly interrupted by a yawn from Vriska. "And, if you don't mind, we're gonna head to bed. It was a long drive home."

"Alright, we can talk tomorrow then. Love you Kanny." She gave me a hug, then turned and walked away.

"Kanny?" Vriska asked, clearly holding back a laugh.

"Don't even go there. Honestly, I prefer Fussyfangs." I grumbled, going to grab the bags by the door.

"Fussyfangs it is then!" Vriska declared, grabbing her own bag, laughing all the way to the bedroom.

* * *

"Kanaya, time to wake up."

"No…" I grumbled back to the voice whispering in my ear, snuggling closer to the pillow I was sleeping on. That is, until the pillow started shaking violently.

"Kan, unless you want your mother to walk in on you snuggling the fuck outta me, you might wanna let go." The pillow rumbled in time with the voice trying to wake me up.

"What?"

"You are really slow in the mornings, you know that, right?" I cracked my eyes open and realized that my "pillow" was Vriska's stomach, explaining why it kept shaking.

"Oh, whoops…" Releasing her, I slowly sat up, scooting over a little bit.

"Hey, normally I wouldn't complain." She grinned, throwing the covers off of herself and stood up. "You're mom knocked on the door and said lunch would be ready in ten minutes."

"What time is it?" Her statement made me pause and search for a clock, which I didn't seem to have anywhere in my room.

"Almost noon." She informed me as she walked to the door.

"Great… I hate sleeping this late, it messes me up all day."

"You also hate waking up early." She threw over her shoulder as she went to the bathroom to get ready. With a sigh I got out of the bed, changing quickly and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Once I stepped into the kitchen I was greeted with the sight of my mother making grilled cheese on the stove.

"'Morning. Your lunch is on the table." My mother turned to greet me, motioning to the table.

"Thanks." Sitting down, I began eating the sandwich, and was joined by Vriska a few moments later.

"Kan, calm down." Vriska whispered to me, putting a hand on the knee that I had no idea that I was bouncing up and down like crazy. "It's gonna be okay."

"So how was the semester?" My mom sat down across from us, opening up conversation.

"Difficult, but I think I managed to do well." I answered, my nerves not really letting me elaborate.

"That's good. And what about you Vriska? What have you been up to lately, and what exactly happened to you?" Thankfully she turned her attention to Vriska, not wanting more of an explanation.

With a deep breath Vriska dove into the story of her life for the past half a year, my mother gasping and asking frequent questions. Vriska told her everything, minus the part where we became a couple, making the entire story take around 10 minutes with all the elaborations added in.

"Sweetheart, that's awful. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Yeah, but I was lucky Kanaya was willing to help me out." Vriska said with a beaming smile in my direction, causing my cheeks to flush.

"She is an amazing young lady, isn't she?" My mother boasted.

"You did raise me very well Momma." I mumbled, still blushing.

"That I did." She laughed. "So Vriska, what are your plans for the future? Are you going to go back to Charleston, or are you going to stay in Columbia, close to Kanny?"

"I don't plan on leaving your daughter any time soon." Vriska told her.

"Oh, that's nice. It's good to see you two become so close again. I remember how distraught Kanaya was when you left after high school." She practically cooed, and I figured it was a good of time as any.

"About that Momma, I, well we, have something that we want to talk to you about." I mentally kicked myself for how awkward and nervous I sounded.

"Talk about what?" She looked slightly concerned, clearly picking up on my fear.

"Well, while Vriska has been in Columbia with me, we've realized that we really care about one another."

"Alright, and why does that need to be a conversation? You two obviously take care of each other. It's great that you both have a friend like that." My mom looked very confused now.

"No Momma, we care about each other as more than friends." I managed to get out.

"What?" Now she looked concerned and confused all at the same time.

"Momma, Vriska's my girlfriend." I told her, bracing myself for whatever came next.

"No." However, I wasn't really expecting that reaction, and had no idea how to react.

"What?" Vriska was the one that spoke up, clearly just as confused as me.

"I don't… I can't accept that. Kanaya, you're not a lesbian. You're not like that." My mother looked horrified, breaking my heart with every word.

"Momma, I don't know what I am, but I do know that I love Vriska. You can't accept that I'm in love?" I asked, trying my best not to cry.

"You can't really believe that you love her! It's not natural!" Her harsh exclamation tore into me, pushing me so close to tears.

"Mrs. Maryam-" Vriska tried to cut in, but my mother stopped her with a glare and a pointed finger.

"This is your fault. Ever since she was a little girl Kanaya has been taking care of you since you couldn't do it yourself! First you made her move ridiculously far away and now you've somehow caused her to believe that she loves you!"

"No! None of this is Vriska's fault." Now I was standing up to match my mother. "I moved closer to her because underneath it all, I've always loved her! I'm sorry that you can't accept it, but she makes me happy! And there is nothing unnatural about being happy with the person you love!"

"You really believe that?" My mother asked, her voice much quieter, the fight seeming to leave her.

"Yes Momma."

"Then I can't do anything to change your mind. Maybe I'm a bit stuck in the past. I know the world's changing, and that situations like yours are more accepted now. Maybe I'm not giving you a chance." She started speaking, more to herself than anything.

"Can you try?" I pleaded.

"I want you to leave." The statement came out barely above a whisper.

"What?"

"You two need to leave. Like I said, I can't accept your relationship. Maybe with time, but not now. Now, I can't look at her," she pointed to Vriska, "without wanting to strangle her. And I can't look at you without wanting to break down in tears. I'll continue to pay for your school, but after that… I just don't know." Her voice was so steady and so unfeeling. It made me wish she had yelled or cried instead.

"Momma… If that's what you really want." She nodded, and I hung my head, I couldn't find it in myself to fight her. I wasn't going to change her mind by yelling, and she was beyond reason at this point. "Alright. We'll leave." I got up and headed to the bedroom, Vriska trailing closely behind.

As soon as I entered the room Alice trotted up to me, looking up at me with big green eyes. With a small sad smile I picked her up, hugging her close to me. Vriska came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry." She murmured in my ear.

"It's not your fault. Let's just get going." I assured her, stepping out of her arms and gathering our things.

Once all of our things were packed we headed to the car, not seeing my mother on the way out. We silently packed up the car, and once all that was done I took one last look at my childhood home, not sure when I'd see it again.

"Do you want to get a hotel and go home tomorrow?" Vriska asked from the passenger seat.

"No. Let's just go home." With one final look at the house, I started the car and drove away.


	4. Chapter 4

The car ride home was painfully silent, neither one of us really knowing what to say or do. When I finally pulled up to my apartment it was around 1 in the morning, which thankfully gave me an excuse to go straight to bed as soon as the car was unpacked.

It wasn't until I was safely under the covers that I let the tears begin to flow freely. Vriska, still a bit uncomfortable around overly emotional people, just wrapped her arms around me and rubbed her hand up and down my back soothingly.

I must have fallen asleep soon afterwards, because the next thing I knew I was waking up, eyes stinging and throat sore from crying myself to sleep.

"'Morning." Vriska murmured into my hair.

"Good morning." I croaked back, cringing at the state of my voice. I started to get up and Vriska, getting the hint, removed her arms.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Vriska asked tentatively to my back as I moved to get up.

"Is there really anything to talk about? She doesn't want me in her life right now, then fine. All I can hope for is that one day she'll reconsider." I told her, as calm as I could, standing up to head to the bathroom. Once I came back out of the bathroom I saw Vriska still sitting on the bed, a thoughtful expression on her face, which quickly disappeared when she saw me.

"So, what do you want to do today?" She asked with a smile.

"I don't really know. I do need to call Rose and tell her that I'll be here over break. Maybe I can pick up an extra shift or two. Other than that I have no idea."

"I guess I should talk to my boss too." She said with a small grimace that actually caused me to laugh.

"You don't have to." I told her as I plopped down on the bed next to her.

"I know, but I should."

"I also think we should find out what Nepeta and Terezi are doing for Christmas since they'll be here. Maybe they'll be open to accepting two poor orphans into their home."

"Sounds good." Vriska agreed, wrapping me in a hug. I leaned into her, burying my face in her hair, glad to feel at least a little happiness at the moment. "You sure you're okay?"

"No, but I think I will be." I mumbled into her shoulder.

* * *

Christmas came and went without too much of a hitch. Nepeta welcomed us into her home with open arms, even Terezi seemed glad to have some extra company for the holidays, going as far as not smacking Vriska or me with her cane once all day Christmas, which was quite the accomplishment. Even Nepeta's cats, Ponce and Felix, welcomed little Alice into their territory without any major fights. All in all, it was probably the best my Christmas could have been after being kicked out of my house by my own mother.

There was one oddity however, I would occasionally find Vriska in a state of deep thought, but she would never tell me what about. That was actually the current topic I was on while talking to Nepeta as we had lunch.

"I just don't really know how to get her to talk. She's never been a super open person feelings-wise." I told Nepeta, trying to get new ideas.

"Maybe she just needs time?" Nepeta suggested.

"That's what I thought too, but that was three weeks ago. How much time is enough time?"

"Have you tried to figure it out yourself?" Nepeta asked.

"Yes, but I really can't think of anything that has happened to her lately. Every time I ask her about work she says it's going well, and I see her most of the rest of the time." I rambled out, officially frustrated.

"You're a moron." The harsh voice came from behind me, followed by a swift whack to my head.

"What the- Terezi!" I yelled as she sat down next to Nepeta. "And where did you even come from?"

"You heard me." She reiterated, completely ignoring my question, her arms crossed over her chest. The absence of smirk or sarcastic comment was scaring me slightly.

"Fine. Why am I a moron?" I bit out.

"You said you can't think of anything that's happened to her lately. Did you ever stop to think that you getting kicked out of your house could have had an effect on her?" Terezi asked.

"Oh god…"

"Maybe, since you were kicked out for being a lesbian, and she's kind of the reason you found out that you're a lesbian, she feels a little responsible?" Terezi growled out at me, surprising me slightly. I hadn't known she'd taken so well to Vriska. "And you're supposed to be the psychology major."

"Shit! Nepeta, I'm sorry, but I have to go." I threw some money on the table and quickly made my way to the car.

"Good luck!" I heard the fading voice of Nepeta call out.

* * *

I ended up getting some control over myself once I got into my car, not breaking too many laws driving home, and took a deep breath before getting out of my car. I couldn't believe how much of an idiot I had been, not giving one thought to how Vriska might have felt. Honestly, I was too preoccupied with burying the whole thing, not wanting the pain to be fresh in my mind at all times.

Trying to stop mentally freaking out, I climbed the stairs quickly, making my way to my door, only to stop short when I saw a woman standing there. She turned slightly to look at me, considering I was giving no effort to be quiet, and she gave me a small sweet smile. That smile quickly turned into a look of confusion when I approached her, key in hand.

"Hello." I greeted her tentatively considering she was probably here to sell something.

"Um, hello. Do you live here?" She asked in a slightly southern drawl. She actually reminded me of someone else. But I really couldn't think at the moment.

"Yes, did you need something?"

"Well, this may sound a little weird, but I'm looking for someone, and I thought she lived here, but you do, so… Maybe I have the wrong number." She mumbled, looking at the door again.

"Maybe I know her. Who are you looking for?" I asked, kind of anxious to remove her from my doorstep.

"Her name is Vriska Serket." Her statement caused me to freeze up, causing her to give me a slightly concerned look. "Do you know her?"

"Why?" I broke my temporary paralysis, and instantly went into defensive mode.

"It's kind of my own business." Her statement wasn't snapped out, or said in an unkind way; instead it came out more uncomfortable.

The door then flung open, Vriska sticking her head out to yell at me. "Fussyfangs, what are you doing out here?"

"Vriska?" The other woman asked cautiously, almost as if she was terrified of the response.

"Yeah, do I know you?" Vriska fully stepped into the doorway, standing with her hands on her hips, and that's when I realized who this woman looked like.

Their hair was the same shade of gold, but while Vriska's was long and unruly, the other's was cut short, stopping at her shoulders, but seemed to also have a mind of its own, sticking out in every direction. Even their eyes seemed to have the same strange cerulean color that I assumed only Vriska had. They both even had the same sharp facial features. All in all, our guest looked almost exactly like Vriska, only a bit shorter and larger-boned.

"Not really." She admitted.

"But you know me?" Vriska asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Not really." Came another confession, this one paired with a sheepish smile.

"So why are you here? And who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the funny part. I'm Aranea Serket. I'm your sister."

"Right." Vriska drawled out, rolling her eyes, pushing her glasses up when they slid down a bit. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to get out of me, but it's not gonna work. I don't have a sister, I'm an only child."

"I thought I was too, but we were wrong." Aranea pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, dislodging her white-framed glasses slightly, clearly not expecting this conversation to go this badly.

"Oh please, go on." Vriska told her, the sarcasm thick in her voice.

"Look, I grew up with our father, and you grew up with our mother. I guess when they separated they didn't want to get into a custody battle, so each took one kid. I was only 3, and you were 1, so neither of us remembers our other parent."

"Alright Lindsay Lohan, go back to the Parent Trap where you stole that wonderful plot from. Come inside Kanaya and leave her to her delusions." Vriska spoke to me, shocking me out of staring at Aranea.

"Vriska, you don't want to hear her out?" I asked, stunning both girls.

"Why should I?" Vriska narrowed her eye at me, or I assume her eyes, but I couldn't see the left one currently, seeing as a thick black lens covered it.

"She looks exactly like you for one." I told her, moving to stand next to her.

"Really?" Vriska asked, looking over Aranea again. "I don't see it." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well you do." I informed her.

"Fine…" Vriska grumbled. "Come on in." She motioned for her possible sister to follow us inside.

"Thank you." She followed us into the kitchen, sitting down across from us.

"So if you're my sister, but we were separated, how did you hear about me?" Vriska asked.

"Right to the point then." Aranea smiled at her.

"Might as well not waste my time if this is all a fake, which I still think it is." Vriska leaned back in her chair, arms folded over her chest.

"You remind me so much of someone I know." Aranea said more to herself with a chuckle. "Alright then. Honestly it was a freak accident. Do you remember the doctor who took care of you after your accident?"

"Not really…" Vriska admitted.

"Her name's Dr. Feferi Peixes."

"Rings a small bell." Vriska drawled.

"The doctor with the fish all over her scrubs." I muttered at Vriska.

"Oh, the one with the terribly obnoxious scrubs. All right, I remember now." She announced.

"Riiight… Anyway, I… know her younger sister." Aranea's hesitation didn't go unnoticed by me, but I wasn't really going to push it at this point. "You're case was brought up, and our last name isn't really common, so I did some research, then confronted our father. I finally convinced him to tell me about you, and now I'm here."

"And what did you expect to get out of this little encounter?" Vriska crossed her arms and waited for the answer.

"Honestly, I don't know. I wanted to know if you were okay, and I can clearly see that you are." She confessed.

"Well, I had quite the caretaker." Vriska told her, ruffling my hair.

"Stop that." I ducked away from her hand, grabbing it and pinning it down to the table. She quickly took her other hand and began ruffling my hair again.

"Well then," Aranea interrupted our little tussle, causing us both to look up and blush simultaneously, "thank you Kanaya, for taking care of my baby sister. Also, you two are rather adorable together." Aranea's last comment was delivered with a knowing smirk, causing us to blush deeper.

"How- how- how-" Vriska tried over and over to get the question out.

"You are very affectionate with Kanaya. You don't strike me as the kind of person that is all touchy-feely with your friends. Also, let's just say more than bad vision runs in our family."

"You too?" Vriska asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, I'm dating Dr. Pixies' younger sister." Aranea confessed, a small blush on her cheeks. "I'm sure you'll meet her soon, I mean, if you want to."

"You really want to try the whole sister thing?" Vriska asked.

"So you believe me?" Aranea's face lit up in excitement.

"I guess so." Vriska grudgingly confessed.

"Then yes, I really would." The sincerity in Aranea's voice left no room for questioning her motives.

"Then I guess we'll do this. You'll have to bring your girlfriend around sometime, that way I can get all the dirt on you." Vriska said with a slightly evil smile.

"Of course. You'll like Meenah, you two are so alike." Aranea declared, overlooking Vriska's little half-threat.

"That sounds like a recipe for disaster." I laughed, trying to picture Vriska getting along with anyone like herself.

"Well, we'll just have to see, right?" Aranea laughed along with me.

"I guess me will." Vriska agreed, squeezing my hand.


	5. Chapter 5

With a promise to call and visit again soon, Aranea left about an hour later, leaving a wide smile on Vriska's face. Of course, I still needed to talk to her about the whole being kicked out of my house thing, but I was hesitant to wipe the look of happiness off my girlfriend's face. Then again, I was worried that if I waited too much longer then Vriska would think that I didn't even consider her feelings at all. I mean sure, I needed a push in the first place to even figure out we needed to talk, but that was beside the point. So, with a deep breath to steady myself, I made my decision.

"Vriska, can you come here?" I called from the living room into the kitchen.

"Sure, what's up Fussyfangs?" Vriska walked in and wrapped me into a hug, giving me a peck on the cheek. I returned the hug briefly before guiding her to the couch, where she proceeded to sit with her feet resting in my lap.

"Vriska… I, well, we… um…" Stuttered beginnings to sentences kept trying to force themselves out of my mouth as I stared intently at Vriska's sock clad feet.

"Hey, look at me." Vriska's unusually gentle voice caused me to look up at her. She rearranged herself so that she was sitting facing me, and she took my hand in hers. "What's the matter?"

"I've been an idiot lately. A selfish idiot." A laughed humorlessly, playing with her fingers.

"Alright, want to tell me why?"

"I wanted to keep all my feelings bottled up, and that was fine with me for the time being, but I didn't consider how you were feeling. I didn't want to think about my pain, so I didn't even take a second to consider yours." I rambled out, figuring I might as well just let the words flow without a filter.

"Oh." I looked up to meet Vriska's eyes, seeing a barely veiled pain in the one I could actually see.

"I want to try and fix that though. I want to talk about it, and I want to know how you feel about the whole mother kicking me out thing."

"You want to know how I feel?" Vriska's tone shifted to bitter so suddenly that it took me a second before I could even nod. She barked out a humorless laugh before shooting off the couch and pacing the carpet in front of it. "You want to know how I feel? I feel like the worst person in the whole fucking world. I'm the reason your mother hates you now! How am I supposed to feel? And what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Vriska, none of this is your fault-" I started to try and calm her down, but she spun on me, her features distraught.

"And that's the worst part! You don't blame me for any of this. It would be so much easier if you would just yell at me, or kick me out, or even if you were mad for a few days, but you weren't! You just drove home with me sitting right next to you, and told me that you loved me anyway. Kan, I don't deserve that. I don't deserve you" Her voice broke as she spoke her last confession, and I wasted no time in jumping off the couch and wrapping my arms around her, holding her as close as I could.

"I could never hate you. I love you too damn much. And you _do_ deserve that." I murmured into her hair, tears beginning to fall down my face. "The only one to blame in this situation is my mother for being closed minded. Neither of us did anything wrong by falling for each other." I pulled back and put my hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. "And I am so sorry that I didn't talk to you earlier about this. I was too worried about my own pain to even think about if you had any. If anything I don't deserve you for being so amazing through all of this. Can you forgive me for being a selfish idiot?"

"Under the circumstances, I think I can manage that." Vriska chuckled lightly, placing her hands on my cheeks and wiping the tears away.

"How did you manage to go this whole conversation without a single tear? I must look like a mess, and you look just fine." I laughed, letting my hands drop from her shoulders.

"It's a gift." She replied, wrapping me into another hug. "And thank you."

"Next time I'm being an idiot, will you just let me know?" I laughed, pulling away and sitting back down on the couch.

"Oh, you can count on it."

* * *

"Why exactly are we at the mall?"

"And remind me why I had to come along?" Nepeta and I both rolled our eyes at our roommates' complaints.

"I need a new coat, Pounce used mine as a climbing tree, remember? And he shredded your red Converse, and you threatened to throw him out if I didn't replace them." Nepeta informed Terezi, subtly guiding the blind girl away from running into a screaming child. Though I wondered if she was aiming at the child on purpose considering she hadn't run into a single person all day.

"And you wanted to get a new game of some sort." I told Vriska, squeezing our joined hands. "Also, I never pass up an opportunity to go to the mall, so when Nepeta invited me I told her we'd be happy to tag along."

"Wonderful…" Vriska muttered. "Look, I don't really want to go clothes shopping, and I highly doubt you want to go to GameStop, so how about I go there while you guys shop for whatever it was that you needed, and I'll meet you there in a little bit." I sighed and nodded, knowing that Vriska would be much happier if she could go off on her own even for a little bit.

"Can I go with Vriska?" Terezi pleaded with Nepeta, reminding me of a child begging her mother.

"No, they're your shoes, and I know you'll complain if I mess up, so you're coming with me.

"Sorry Terezi, better luck next time." Vriska patted the brunette on the shoulder, turning and walking away quickly to avoid the cane aimed at her knee.

"Well, let's get going." I ushered our little group to the department store, heading into the shoe section.

Nepeta quickly found the right style of shoe, and had one of the runners grab the size that Terezi called out from the chair she had sat in. I took the time to browse through the boots, to kill time more than anything considering I had plenty in my closet at home. As I was admiring a rather stylish pair of heels a strange sensation washed over me. Stiffening, I tried to discretely look around, quickly noticing a boy staring at me. Once he met my eyes he quickly looked away, trying to busy himself with the shoes in front of him. I would have thought it was random if not for the fact that he was standing in the women's shoe section, staring intently at a pair of heels. Something about his unruly red hair and features made me think I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn't remember for the life of me.

"Hey, isn't that Karkat?" Nepeta's voice sounded from right behind me, causing me to jump and spin. Surprisingly though, I wasn't the only one that flinched at the words.

"Karkat? Here?" Terezi had the closest thing to fear on her face that I had ever seen.

"Wait, Karkat from school? He was somehow my lab partner for every chemistry class I had." I glanced back at him, only to see him looking at us. "Well, let's go say hi, this staring back and forth is obnoxious."

"No, that's fine. Let's just go." Terezi pleaded, grabbing my arm and Nepeta's.

"Terezi, why don't you want to talk to him?" Nepeta questioned, tugging at her arm to get the strangely nervous girl to let go.

"No reason. I just want to go." She muttered out, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

"Oh my god." I froze when I realized what was going on.

"What?" Nepeta asked me with her head tilted to the side.

"Terezi, do you like him?" I asked, grabbing her wrist, causing her to let go of my sleeve.

"Does Terezi like who?" Vriska seemed to pop out of nowhere right next to Terezi, causing said girl to squeak and flinch.

"That boy over there." Nepeta motioned at Karkat, who was now openly staring at us in confusion.

"Aw, he's cute." Vriska cooed at the shorter girl, earning her a solid whack on the arm.

"Shut up. I don't like him!" Terezi whisper-yelled at all of us.

"Then go talk to him and say hi." Vriska pushed Terezi out of the group and in the general direction of Karkat, causing her to stumble and fall. Thankfully, Karkat seemed to have had enough of us talking about him, and was heading over towards us when Vriska pushed Terezi, which put him directly in her path as she fell. He quickly caught the stumbling girl, steadying her before shooting Vriska a glare, anger clear in his bright reddish-brown eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked once Terezi was upright again.

"Um… Yeah. Thank you." Terezi's voice came out slightly squeaky, causing her blush to intensify.

"Terezi, right?" He asked and she nodded. "If you don't remember me, I'm Karkat from your history class last semester." I didn't know if he did it on purpose, but I was impressed at his subtle way of telling the blind girl who he was without bruising her sensitive ego.

"Yeah, you sat right behind me, right?" She had gotten her voice under control, but I could see her hands still fidgeting on the head of the cane. Feeling awkward just standing there I grabbed Vriska's arm and gave Nepeta a look to herd them deeper into the shoe section.

"Come on Kanaya, I wanted to hear what they were saying." Vriska whined once we were out of earshot.

"Well I wanted to give them some privacy." I shot back.

"Fine…" Vriska grumbled, finding a chair to sit in to wait for Terezi.

About ten minutes later Terezi found us, a slight dreamy vibe coming from her.

"So, how's Karkat?" Nepeta asked, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Fine." Terezi replied smoothly.

"Uh huh. Anything else?" Vriska asked getting up out of the chair.

"Like what?" Terezi asked.

"Oh spill Pyrope."

"Geez, so impatient." Terezi mocked, but it was obvious she had become a bit nervous again. "He kind of asked me out I think."

"You think?" I asked, not sure how one could be unclear on something like that.

"He invited me to lunch next Saturday. Does that count?"

"That definitely counts! Look at our little Terezi, all grown up and getting herself a man." Vriska teased, ruffling the girl's hair.

"Stop that!" Terezi swatted Vriska's hand away, but the smile on her face never faltered.

"Well, I'd say that this was a productive mall visit. Everyone ready to go?" I asked, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

We all walked away from the store, Vriska still grilling Terezi on the details of her little crush, and Terezi trying to answer as vaguely as possible. While we were all completely focused on Terezi, none of us noticed the pair of eyes studying us intently, or the cruel grin that spread across the owner's face.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Two updates in one day! I'm sorry that the schedule is so messed up, but school saps all of my drive to write this. Anyway, enjoy!**

**I still don't own Homestuck, that's Hussie's job.**

* * *

"This is stupid." Terezi muttered as she changed into the outfit I had chosen for her.

"You _are_ the one that asked me for help I'd like to remind you." I called through the bathroom door I was sitting next to as I played with Felix.

"Well that was a huge mistake. How in the hell does it take a person an hour to pick out an outfit! Not only that, this is the third damn outfit you've made me try on." Terezi growled out as the bathroom door opened.

"That's the one." I declared getting up to straighten it out a bit, causing Felix to voice his dissatisfaction at being ignored. "And for the record, clothes make a statement. We couldn't have it looking like you were trying to hard, but it also had to look like you cared."

"That is the single stupidest thing I have ever heard. Besides, I'm blind, clothes don't matter to me." Terezi informed me. "And just remember, you were the third choice in this situation. Nepeta is at the shelter, and Vriska's working."

"I know, but I'm happy to help regardless. But you remember, _I_ am the one that will make you look the nicest. Now, you do like Karkat, don't you?" I asked as I finished straightening the collar to her shirt.

"Yes." She grudgingly admitted.

"And you want him to think you're interested, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, clothes make the first statement. Now let me get a good look at you." I stepped back and admired my handiwork. Seeing as the stubborn girl refused to wear a skirt, or even own one for that matter, she was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans with a red shirt and a black vest over top. Her hair was too short to put up, so it was down, and no matter how hard I tired to fix it, was still slightly crazy. "Terezi, you look beautiful. And if he doesn't tell you that himself, I will personally kick his ass, got that?"

"Thank you Kanaya." A blush covered her cheeks as she shifted from foot to foot. "Really, thank you for doing this for me."

"Anytime. Now, take these," I handed her glasses to her, "and knock him dead."

"I'm actually gonna leave the glasses here. I don't wanna hide behind them." She handed them back to me.

"Alright. Ready to go?" I set the glasses down on the table. She nodded and followed me out the door.

The restaurant wasn't too far away, so Terezi insisted on walking, which I wasn't going to argue with as it saved me some gas money. We enjoyed a relatively quiet walk, during which I only really had to help Terezi when we were crossing streets or when some moron decided to cut her off. Overall, we got to the restaurant without any hassle and, once there, Terezi gave me a brief hug and walked in to find Karkat.

Pleased that she was in good hands, I walked away from the restaurant, turning the opposite way from my apartment planning on taking advantage of the beautiful day. I walked towards a park that I knew was relatively close to me, taking my time strolling through the trees.

A buzzing in my pocket drew my attention back to the real world, my phone announcing an unknown number calling from North Carolina. Figuring it was a sales call I ignored it, placing my phone back in my pocket.

Once that distraction was done I allowed my mind to wander again, not really thinking about one thing in particular. Not paying attention, I wandered into a portion of the park that was heavily shrouded by trees, with no other person in sight. Realizing that I was a bit too far into the park I turned around to start heading home.

Of course heading home was the plan, but that was quickly derailed when I saw a girl standing about ten feet from me. She was a tall girl, platinum blonde hair hung to her waist, but it was grungy as if she hadn't washed it in days. White clothes hung from her bony frame, tattered and dirty, and she had no shoes on her feet. Bloodshot light brown eyes stared at me as I studied her. Her appearance alone was enough to make me nervous, but the look in her eyes caused dread to clench at my heart. Her expression was a sick hybrid of malice and glee, and mixed with her haggard appearance she looked as if she had just escaped a mental hospital.

"Hello Kanaya." The girl greeted me by name, her face splitting into a grin. "I see you're scared, that's good. Do you know who I am?"

"Aradia…" I choked out once my brain put it all together.

"That's right." She chuckled darkly, beginning to circle me. I turned to follow her, not wanting to turn my back on her.

"How are you here?"

"Even a mental hospital doesn't think that a patient would be crazy enough to try the same escape plan twice. Riding out in a garbage truck," she let out another laugh, "you would think that there would be better monitoring."

"Why?" I asked, trying to keep calm.

"Why? Well that's the million dollar question now isn't it?" She started walking closer to me, causing me to walk back until my back hit a tree. "You see, I escaped the first time to teach _dear_ Vriska a lesson. To show her what happens to people who play with other people's emotions. But then I saw the police reports! She wasn't even severely injured. I was so disappointed."

"Are you crazy? She lost an arm and an eye because of you!" I shouted at her, taking a step forward.

Aradia laughed at my outburst, taking a step forward so that she was only about two feet from me. "Watch your word choice there. I _am_ crazy after all. Besides, what's an arm or an eye to a heart?" She snarled out her question, the grin falling from her face for the first time. She quickly recovered though, a smile adorning her face again. "So no, she didn't hurt as much as I wanted her to. So I got out and started watching Vriska, trying to figure out what I could do to hurt her the most."

"You've been watching us?" I asked, horrified at the thought.

"Well, I was only supposed to be watching Vriska. So imagine my surprise when I see you with her. When I figure out that she's dating a girl after she specifically told me that she wasn't interested in women that way. Imagine my hurt at that one. But watching you two I was granted the solution to all my problems. Watching you two let me I figure it out." She stopped her rant and looked at me expectantly.

Figuring I was safest just to play along I humored her. "Figured what out?"

"That any physical injury I gave her wasn't good enough. No, if really wanted her to hurt like I did then I'd have to break her. And what better way to break someone then to rip out their heart, beat it, and show them the bloody remains?"

"Oh god." I whispered, knowing exactly what she meant. Knowing what that meant for me.

"My, you are a smart girl, aren't you? But not smart enough to avoid a secluded, hidden area of a forest." She reached forward and placed her fingertips on my cheek. Finally shocked out of paralysis I slapped her arm away, but that only caused her smile to broaden. "Good, you have some fight in you. That'll make things more interesting."

With a feral snarl she lunged at me, hands outstretched for my neck. Thinking as quickly as I could I lowered my shoulder, pushed off the tree, and rammed into her dead on. With a grunt she stumbled backwards, and I took that as my opportunity to run; however, within the first few steps Aradia crashed into my back, tackling me to the ground. I flipped over quickly, only to be met with a fist straight to my face. Letting loose a growl of my own I drove my fist into her stomach, but she seemed to easily ignore that.

She straddled my hips, pinning my hands to the ground, and as she smiled down at me I saw the emptiness in her eyes. Whatever humanity or morals she might have had previously were gone, replaced by some twisted version of justice. I knew that she would have no problem killing me, would hold no remorse afterwards. I had studied people like her for the past three and a half years, pitying them for what they couldn't control, but at that moment, I felt no pity for her. Instead a deep hatred boiled in my gut, along with a fear for my life.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon." She lowered her face as she spoke to me, and I took that as an opportunity to ram my head into her face. Sadly she didn't let go or get off of me, instead she snarled and slammed my head into the ground over and over again, until finally I stopped feeling the pain.

* * *

Aradia looked down at her handiwork with a wicked grin. The woman lying on the ground was beaten and bloody, just as she had planned. Yes, her plan was coming along quite well. Vriska would just _love_ this. Here was her heart, unconscious on the ground beaten enough to leave a lasting impression.

She got up with a wince of pain as her hand flew to her midsection. It would seem that this girl had much more fight than her appearance and demeanor would lead someone to believe. Aradia could feel the cracks and bruises on her ribs, along with the blood running down her face from the broken nose she was sporting.

Ignoring her injuries for now, she spit the blood out of her mouth and started on the next step of her plan. Crouching next to the body, she searched the pockets for what she was looking for. Finding the phone with ease she flipped it on.

_Silly girl, haven't you ever heard of a passcode? Without one, people can just break into your phone._ She thought to herself.

_Stop wasting time and do it already!_ The ever-present voice in her head yelled at her.

"I am, I am. So impatient." She muttered, clicking on the phone app.

_Don't patronize me!_ He yelled back.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered an apology while cringing, which seemed to please the voice, as he didn't begin yelling at her again. Noticing the missed call from an ever-familiar number she couldn't help but laugh to herself.

"You really should have picked that call up Kanny. The hospital could have warned you about me." Aradia poked the body with her foot as a point.

Getting back to business, she dialed the simple three-digit number, and the call connected within two rings. "Yes, I'd like to report a beating. There's a girl in the park off of Glenwood Blvd. Just follow the trail of blood and you'll find her."

Aradia hung up before the operator could question her, getting a small sick joy at seeing the crack running through the center of the screen. Knowing that she had to leave, Aradia made sure to walk through the growing pool of blood to leave a trail for the paramedics to follow into the trees.

Yes, she had done exactly as she planned, exactly as her voice told her to do, and she was pleased in the sickest way. Now all that was left was to watch as Vriska broke, and be there in the audience, enjoying every moment of the show.

* * *

**A/N: So how do you guys like Aradia? Personally I like writing crazy characters, so let me know what you think of her.**


	7. Chapter 7

Later I was told that I woke up three times before I became fully aware of anything. The first time all I did was briefly open my eyes, look at my hand, then pass out, probably due to the pain meds that they were pumping into me.

The second time I don't remember, but was told it was horrible. One of my nurses had platinum blonde hair, and as soon as I saw her leaning over me, smiling that I was awake I began screaming in terror. I tried to curl up away from the nurse, and she called in others to help hold me down as they sedated me. I was told I yelped and whimpered until I passed out again, from fear or medication the doctors were unsure.

As I opened my eyes, for the third time I guess, I was sure that the drugs were messing with me. To my left I could see Terezi and Nepeta asleep on the couch, only Nepeta had whiskers drawn on her face and a collar around her neck, and Terezi, instead of her normal sunglasses, had on a pair of those weird rave glasses, that instead of lenses only had plastic bars going across them, in neon blue. To add to the weirdness there was a girl I didn't recognize sitting in a chair, back resting on my bed, throwing tiny balls of paper into Terezi's open mouth.

I took a closer look at the unknown girl, who was still unaware of the fact I had woken up. She was darker skinned, darker than me, probably half black. Her hair was cut relatively short everywhere except for two long braids that hung just past her chest. Her fashion sense made me cringe slightly; she was wearing a large t-shirt that hung off one shoulder, on which I could see the top of a tattoo of a trident, and exposing a tank top underneath. Hanging from her hips was a pair of black jeans with two belts, one actually looped through the pants, the other I guess for fashion, though I was reserved to use that word in regards to her.

"And we have a new record with 15." She snickered as another paper ball landed in Terezi's mouth, and I figured I should probably put an end to this.

"Excuse me." I tried to say to get her attention, but it came out very raspy and near silent. Seeing that she hadn't noticed I nudged her back with my foot, figuring she kind of deserved to be kicked at this point anyway.

"Huh?" She turned piercing purple eyes upon me, obviously contacts, and smiled. Though smirked would probably be a better description of the facial expression. "Hey, little Serk, your girl's awake." She called out to the open door. I turned to follow her line of sight and saw Vriska standing in the hallway just outside my door, talking to a police officer.

As soon as Vriska caught sight of me staring at her she bolted into the room and wrapped me into the gentlest hug she could manage. "Kanaya, you're awake!"

"I'm starting to wonder…" I muttered, hugging her back fiercely, but cringed and pulled away when a sharp pain flashed through my abdomen.

"What?" Vriska looked at me funny, making me wonder if that came out much louder than intended. Mentally shrugging, I motioned over to our two friends on the couch. "Meenah, what did you do to them?" Vriska asked, trying to keep from busting up laughing.

"Nothin' they didn't deserve. You know the rules, fall asleep with your shoes on and your fair game." The girl, Meenah I guess, defended.

"That's for guys in dorms and frat houses, not for my friends." I deadpanned.

"Whoops." Meenah said, trying her best to look innocent.

Nepeta chose that moment to stir, straightening and causing Terezi to fall off of her shoulder. The little blonde stretched slowly, reminding me very much of a feline, and the whiskers really weren't helping the matter. Waking up herself, Terezi's face scrunched up in confusion as she spit out a mass of paper balls.

"What in the hell?" Terezi growled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, causing Vriska and Meenah to bust up laughing.

"Kanaya?" Nepeta rubbed her eyes a couple of times, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Hello." I chuckled and waved.

"Kanaya!" Nepeta shot up and moved to my side, yet staying far from Meenah. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell." I groaned, the pain finally starting to register.

"What happened to you anyway?" Terezi asked, getting up and making her way over to me as well.

"Yeah, we kinda all wanna know." Meenah added from her seat.

"Alright, I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are." I stated, still trying to figure her out.

"Kan, remember when Aranea said she was dating Dr. Peixes' younger sister?" Vriska prompted. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nepeta giving Terezi a weird look and taking the glasses from her before whispering something to the blind girl.

"Wait, you're the doctor's sister?" I asked the punk-looking woman still leaning up against the bed, trying to ignore my two friends in the corner.

"Yeah, I know, we don't really look alike. Fef took after our dad, I took after our mom." She explained.

"Excuse me Miss Maryam." I turned to see the officer Vriska had been talking to walk into the room. "Now that you're awake I was wondering if we could get your statement on the incident."

"Alright."

"Good. Now I'm going to have to ask your friends to leave the room, I don't think they're all supposed to be in here anyways." He chuckled, causing Nepeta to look at the floor guiltily.

"We can leave. I told Aranea I'd tell her when you woke up anyway." Meenah stood and strolled out of the room after patting Vriska on the shoulder. Nepeta and Terezi made a move to leave as well, but I really couldn't let Nepeta out looking like that.

"Nepeta," I called out, and she looked back at me, "before you go anywhere I'd go to the bathroom and take a look at yourself."

"Huh?" She scrunched her face up in confusion.

"Just trust me on this one." After assuring her she simply shrugged and headed out. Vriska, the ever-loyal girlfriend, stayed sitting right by my side.

"Ma'am?" The officer prompted.

"Can she stay?" I pleaded, grabbing her hand.

He looked torn, but must have seen the fear in my eyes because his expression softened after a moment. "I think I can allow that."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now, Miss Maryam, my name is Officer Alex. I'd like to you to tell me what happened at the park." He prompted, pulling out a notebook.

Taking a deep breath, and grabbing Vriska's hand I began. "I was taking a walk in the park, but I kind of got lost in a more secluded portion of the trees. Once I realized that I turned to go back but there was someone standing there." My throat tightened up as the memories came rushing back.

"I'm assuming this was the person that beat you." I nodded. "Alright, do you remember them enough to give me a description?" He asked.

"I know the person. Or know of them. I can give you a name."

"Well?"

"Aradia Megido." Two words. Two words came out of my mouth and I was ready to curl up into a ball as some sort of instinctual defense mechanism.

"Aradia?" I looked at Vriska, paralyzed, no facial expression showing, but if the pressure on my hand was any indication, she was terrified.

"You both know this woman?" Alex asked.

"I used to work with her, but she had a mental breakdown. She blamed it on me." Vriska explained, and I could fell trembles moving through her.

"I see. So she's mental unstable?"

"Schizophrenia. She was sent to a mental hospital for schizophrenia, but she's gotten out twice now. The first time she sent a bomb to Vriska's apartment, and this time she beat me." I explained.

"Well, I'll be having a talk with the institute then. Anything else? Did she say anything to you? Tell you why she was doing this?" Alex asked, in what I was assuming was supposed to be a gentle voice, but I couldn't really focus on it as memories of the conversation came back.

"She wants to break Vriska the way she claims Vriska broke her." I whispered, my voice breaking at the very end.

"And she hurt you because…?"

"Because we're dating. Because Vriska had told Aradia that she didn't feel anything for her, and now she's taking her revenge." I tried to explain best I could.

"Anything else? Do you know how she's planning on hurting Vriska? Is she going to come after her?" He shot off as he furiously scribbled on his notebook.

"I know she doesn't want to physically hurt Vriska. She just kept saying that the best way to break someone was to destroy their heart." He nodded and kept writing. "I'm afraid that she's going to come after our friends as well."

"We won't let her. Don't worry Miss Maryam, we will find this girl, and we will make sure that she stays locked up for good this time." Alex tried to reassure me, and with a nod he was gone.

"I'm so sorry." A second later I heard Vriska whisper.

"This is not your fault." I told her firmly, pulling her face towards mine so that I could look her in the eye. "But that's what that psycho bitch wants you to think. She wants you to feel guilt, and she wants me to get angry with you. Now, do you want to give her what she wants?"

"No, but-"

"No. There is nothing else to say. I love you, and it will take a whole lot more than a violent schizophrenic and an insane mother to take me away from you. Do you understand?"

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Vriska chuckled slightly, putting her hand over mine.

"I know, right? I'm just so fabulous, and amazing, and forgiving, and-" Vriska cut off my sarcasm with her lips, which I happily obliged to, but pulled away when a stinging pain manifested itself in my face.

"What's wrong?" Vriska asked, noticing my grimace.

"Just a minor pain, nothing to worry about." I assured her.

"I guarantee you Miss Maryam, your injuries are not minor." I looked over Vriska's shoulder to see a doctor walking into the room.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You sustained a number of injuries, many rather serious. If not for the timely call to the paramedics, you probably wouldn't have made it. And even with you rush delivery here it took you two whole days to wake up." The doctor informed me, grabbing my charts from the foot of the bed.

"Wait, someone called 911?" I asked. "There was no one else in the forest."

"Well, you have a guardian angel then. It was odd though, the person used your phone to make the call." The doctor said with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm Dr. Fox, I've been overseeing your recovery."

"How bad am I exactly?"

"You had a broken rib, three cracked ribs, a broken nose, a rather sever concussion, though there was thankfully no swelling of your brain, multiple lacerations along your shoulders and arms, presumably from the assailant's nails, and bruises all over your upper body. Not to mention the fact that your attacker bit you." The doctor listed off, rather apathetic.

"Wait, she bit me? Where?" I started looking all over, and feeling my neck and shoulders.

"You lower arm. She was rather ruthless in her attack. Now, are you feeling any pain?" Dr. Fox asked, checking my IV.

"A little, but nothing to major. It's more of an ache all over." I told her.

"That's good. We don't want to keep pumping you full of medication; sometimes pain can be a good indicator of how well you're healing. So as long as your pain is bearable we're going to go light on any painkillers. If your pain does get out of hand just press the call button and tell the nurse." She informed me and left the room.

"Talk about bedside manner." Vriska mumbled.

"Yeah, she definitely gave off a 'I really don't want to be here' vibe." I observed.

"Are you sure your not in too much pain?" Vriska asked, hands hovering over me.

"I'm sure." I giggled at her antics, then laughed outright when I heard her stomach rumble. "Well isn't this a wonderful flash of déjà vu."

"Yeah, yeah. Worrying about someone really cuts off all thoughts of eating. I get it." She muttered.

"Vriska, I'll be fine. You can go get something to eat." I motioned for her to go.

"Fine. But I'll send someone back up as soon as I can. And I won't be too long." She kept talking as she backed out of the room.

"Go, I'll probably sleep some more anyway." I informed her.

Once she was gone I settled into the bed, trying to get comfortable, but the memories of the park were making it hard for me to stay calm. I hated to admit it, but I was terrified now. I knew that Aradia was going to do everything in her power to hurt Vriska, probably through me again, and that scared me. Somehow I managed to fall asleep, but wasn't granted escape from the dark thoughts swirling through my head.


End file.
